Hoyas: McGillivrayi- questions

I got a small plant that's doing very well and growing really quivckly for a hoya- but since I"ve been reading up on hoyas this weekend, i'm wondering if i'm growing it properly. It's in a clay pot on a pedestal and is vining down. Somebody somewhere mentioned that some hoyas or other needed to be trained upwards to grow and bloom properly. Is that true? Which ones, if so? If you can tell me whether I should fertilize heavily or moderately, that would be good nfo to have, too. Also- with regular miracle-gro-type fertilizer or a bloom booster type? It's a young plant, probably not ready to bloom for a couple of years yet. I do mist it with VF-11 sometimes also.

Eileen,
Since noone else has chimed in...here is my opinion. I am by no means an expert, but I do have 20 or so Hoyas. All mine are in hanging baskets. Most bloom reliably. The only one I can think of that has not bloomed for me is Australis...its grows like a weed but doesn't bloom. Hoyas in their natual habitat do climb, but I wouldn't think it would be necessary for them to bloom. I can't advise on the fertilize, I seldom do it and mine are just fine.

I think McGillivrayi is one of those that is a little more particular, not sure. I have one also, its still a youngster too, so I haven't seen it bloom.

I appreciate your pitching in- and hopefully our hoysas will bloom this year. I just moved mine to a dappled-sun location and I swear I saw the beginnings of a couple of flower spurs but I might be dreaming.

My two are in a dappled sun location-- one was in full sun for years and bloomed sporadically and is much happier now. I purchased a hanging basket a while back and am training it up on a tuteur-- am away from home and anxious to see it when I return in 12 days.
How long do they get in the hanging baskets? The baskets are MUCH cheaper than the potted ones with a tuteur ($200 for those) so I'm open to any ideas. Has anyone hung them from trees? The older one of mine was my mothers and in a small plastic pot for years-- I re-potted it several months ago and it's very happy. It has little trailing roots where it attached to the outside of the clay pot ( No drain hole!) that it was in.
Sorry to ramble-- it's also the way I talk!!!
Happy Wednesday!

I've got mine hanging in a tree. Don't know how big it is, it just disappears up into all the foliage. There's a few other Hoyas in there as well. But I understand in the right conditions it'll get into the tree tops. The small trailing roots come out where the stem touches other things.

I have an assortment of Hoyas and all are in hanging baskets. I have them hanging on three layered bars on the porch. I find some tendrils grow upward and others drape down. This past weekend I spent a long time untwining all of them.

To accomodate my space, I use small hanging baskets. If I recall they are only 4 or 5 inch. The plants are in bright shade with a minimal amount of sunshine. I've found sunshine can sunburn the leaves in this zone.

I don't fertilize frequently but use a diluted solution of Miracid about once a month (or less) when watering. I think being rootbound is more important to blooms than sunshine so prefer the smaller pots.

It's a fertilizer that's either applied as a foliar spray or mixed into water. Do a web search for it, a lot of people I know say it's really great stuff. I used to mail order it, but now, thank heavens, Home Depot is carrying it.

Eileen, there's a down side to having them up trees, you don't always get to see the flowers. At least, not close up. I have another right up a tree, a H. pubicalyx, and have to use an extension ladder to photograph the flowers. And even then it's a balancing act to get the right angle, along with telephoto lens to get in real close.

One thing you really need for getting them up in trees is humidity. The higher up they go the more open they are to breezes and low humidity. If you're in a dry climate it becomes very difficult.